诰

誥
gào
noun #94,303

Meanings

  1. 1 an imperial mandate or proclamation (classical)
  2. 2 to instruct from above; to enjoin (classical)

Examples

HSK 7-9
伊尹申诰于王。
Yī Yǐn shēn gào yú wáng.
Yi Yin solemnly instructed the king.

Tips

history
Not used alone in modern Chinese; it survives in historical terms - 诰命 (a patent of nobility conferred by the throne) and chapter names in the 《尚书》. The right side 告 is both the phonetic and a meaning clue (to tell).
register
Classical and institutional only - found in old statutes and the Classics, not modern speech.

Components

radical
讠 yán
speech; words
The speech radical 讠 is 言 in left-side form. It marks 诰 as a formal verbal act - a ruler proclaiming a command downward.
phonetic
告 gào
to tell; to announce
On the right, 告 supplies the gào sound and reinforces the meaning - announcing or instructing. It is the same phonetic in 靠 and 造.

Stroke Order

诰 gào